


They Won't Know

by Nicxan



Category: Metal Gear, Metroid, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2014-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-09 12:05:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1145788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicxan/pseuds/Nicxan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the mansion catches on fire, Samus and some other fighters take it upon themselves to save whoever's trapped. While Samus is carrying out the mission, her past catches up to her. [[ PTSD/Flashback. ]]</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Won't Know

This felt sickeningly familiar in many ways. The first things that came to mind were crumbling planets, explosions that shattered the silence of space, and Sector 3 of the B.S.L. lab. The flames spun around her in the same way. It coated her Gravity Suit and hindered her vision. Her scanners warned her of dangers at every turn.   
  
It got obnoxious quickly.  
  
Samus already knew how dangerous the mansion had become. No one was sure how the fire started, but it spread quickly. People were still trapped inside. Banners quickly fell victim to the roaring flames, and their ashes danced to the ground. The glass roof shattered a long time ago. Pieces of the skylight littered the marble floor. The pieces crunched beneath armored boots as the hunter pushed through the roaring flames. Samus’ teal eyes were steeled over, and each step was precise as could be.  
  
“Is anyone there?!” she called out. The deafening sounds of the fire nearly overrode her voice. This only caused her to shout even louder. “If anyone is in here, say something!”  
  
She knew not everyone was capable of fighting through the blazing heat. In fact, she was one of few. Many were able to get out on their own, of course, but some were still trapped inside the crumbling building. At least three remained missing: Pikachu, Bowser, and Olimar were among them.  
  
“Samus! I hear someone over here!” Ash coated her visor as she turned to face the Pokémon trainer behind her. He gestured to the hall on the opposite side as Squirtle doused the fire in front of them.  
  
“Go get them!” She couldn’t hear his response. She wiped what she could off of her visor, and was just able to make out the trainer rushing off. The smoke clouded the west wing. Splintered wood hit the shoulder pads of the armor. An ear-splitting crack echoed above her head, and Samus leaped towards the end of the hallway. Beams of the ceiling crashed on the ground behind her, and were quickly consumed by the flames.   
  
“Damn it!”   
  
The hallway seemed to only grow longer and longer as it fell apart. Samus kept a steady pace until she reached the charred wooden doors. One touch of the handle told her that the blaze continued on the other side. She took a couple of steps back, took a deep breath, and slammed into the weakened door with the side of her armor. It collapsed with ease.   
  
Samus tapped the side of her helmet and activated the scanner. The east wing had the larger rooms, and she could already see the smoke congregating at the top of the stairs. There had to be more than enough room to maneuver around and save whoever was stuck in the area. The hunter ascended the stairs as fast as she could.  
  
“This is Samus! If anyone’s here, please let me know!” Her voice was drowned out by the noise. Samus cursed to herself and began her trek down the hall to examine the rooms.   
  
That’s when she heard the fear-filled roar that echoed throughout the cramped space.  
  
The hunter froze in place.  
  
 _‘It’s just Bowser.’_  
  
She was never able to get used to his roar -- not completely. It sounded too much like Ridley’s to be able to ignore it. The first few times, it became difficult to finish a fight. Right after the match, she’d lock herself in her room to calm herself down. The more they fought, the easier it became to tune it out. Eventually, she was able to fight him without a problem at all.  
  
Here, however, was completely different. With the fires, it reminded her of ...  
  
 _‘It’s only him. He’s scared.’_  
  
Samus’ heart began hammering in her chest. Her breaths grew short and ragged to match her body’s shakes. Flashes of her burned colony appeared before her eyes; the Space Pirates wreaked havoc before her. They burned buildings, trees, people -- anything they could get their dirty claws on. She let out a weak cry as her knees buckled. The metal slammed against the wooden floor.  
  
 _‘Get ahold of yourself! It’s just Bowser! It’s not_ him _!’_  
  
The screams and cries of her friends and neighbors rang in her ears. The fires around her seemed even hotter as they consumed the homes of the colonists. As they fell, the fire grew and the Pirates laughed sadistically. Samus’ armor began to malfunction. It faded in and out, and gradually disappeared. First, her arm. Then, her legs. Her torso. All of it faded far too quickly for her to bring it back. Lastly, her helmet vanished; Samus was left in her Zero Suit.   
  
She gagged on the smoke and coughed violently. When she looked back up, she saw Ridley burn her mother alive in front of her. Her gasps for air grew more desperate as her own body and mind fought against her. Blank eyes stared ahead at the carnage around her, and tears streamed down her reddened face.   
  
Once Ridley eliminated her mother, he looked to her with a twisted grin. Yellow teeth were singed from his fiery breath. A deafening roar came from the Space Pirate commander; Samus fumbled to cover her ears. She bowed her head to avoid the sight, and let out a choked sob. She curled up and let the tears overwhelm her as the mansion fell apart around her.

 

* * *

  
She hadn’t come out yet.   
  
It didn’t make sense; she had the armor. She’d be fine, she said. Everyone else was out except for her, and each second made the probability of survival dwindle. The mansion was damn well about to collapse. Snake examined the wounded fighters around him before he looked back to the inferno.  
  
Of course, when he began to go inside the burning building, he was bombarded with warnings. He appreciated the good intentions, sure. More than anything, however, Snake was incredibly annoyed. He couldn’t exactly blame them; a lot of people got hurt in there, and some weren’t able to move as fast as normal. He had seen much, much worse than a damn fire.   
  
Samus wouldn’t stay inside for no reason. He knew her much better than that. Something was wrong.  
  
He broke down the remainder of the front doors. The blazing heat enveloped him instantly, and Snake let out a ragged cough from the sudden influx of smoke. He kneeled and took the bandana off of his forehead. This was in no way a good plan, but it was a hell of a lot better than just inhaling all the smoke. He wrapped it around his mouth. He couldn’t imagine why breathing was suddenly more difficult, but he’d pull through.   
  
“Samus!” His cry was muffled, and it barely resonated through the chaos. Snake swore under his breath; he’d have to find her by pure luck. ‘Just business as usual.’ This mansion was no bigger than Shadow Moses, so it wasn’t close to intimidating -- however, it was a lot of ground to cover. He took a deep breath in the remaining clear air, and crawled into the inferno. The main hallway was all but destroyed; debris littered the ground, and clouds of ash mingled with the smoke.   
  
He dimly heard the Codec ring in his ear. He lightly tapped it and resumed crawling. Otacon’s voice cut through the destruction.   
  
“Snake! Be careful! I--I know you’re looking for Samus, but the mansion’s going to collapse at any minute! You have to get her and then get out of there fast!”  
  
“I know that! But I have no idea where to look!”  
  
“Last Bowser saw her, she was at the top of the stairs in the east wing. He tried to get her to move, but she wouldn’t listen to him. Actually, she seemed ... scared of him.”  
  
“What the hell?! That’s not like her at all. What’s going on?” Snake cried out when he felt charred wood slam on his head. Small boards still hurt, even from that height. He could already feel his head throb, but he shook it off. He had to. “Never mind. We don’t have time for that. You said she was in the east wing?”  
  
“Yeah.”   
  
“Did she have her armor on? Does Bowser remember?” There was a brief moment of hesitation on Otacon’s part, and Snake narrowed his eyes. There was damn well no time for this, either! “Answer me, Otacon!”  
  
“He said that she was in the Zero Suit.”  
  
“Damn, what the hell is she thinking!? Look. I’ll find her. Don’t worry.” He heard Otacon’s sigh of relief.  
  
“All right. I’ll let them know.”   
  
He cut communications and glanced at the west wing. It was completely blocked off by what seemed to be everything; the rising flames hid the remainder of the hall. What wasn’t covered was blocked by blackened wood, and the pile steadily rose with each passing second. The east wing was still accessible. the debris piled on the edge instead of the hall. Pure luck was on his side after all. He smirked.   
  
Snake shifted down the hall and towards what used to be the door for the wing; only the edges remained. The rest had fallen to the burned ground, consumed by the flames as everything else had been. He peered inside and looked up the stairs. She managed to reach the top; that’s where all the smoke was. Running in that would be an absolute death sentence. Snake could already feel his eyes water, and his breaths became more ragged. His bandana wasn’t doing shit.  
  
The mercenary made the trek up the stairs; his eyes widened when he saw Samus’ limp figure laying on the singed ground. Her eyes were barely open, and her breaths were shallow. _‘All of this smoke must have gotten into her ... damn!’_ He rushed over to her side and knelt next to her. What strength she had left was spent inching away from him.  
  
The pieces of the puzzle came together instantly.  
  
“S ... stay ... awa ...” He untied his bandana and let out a cough from the smoke.  
  
“Samus, it’s me. It’s okay,” he soothed. She stared at him with tired eyes, then the trembles subsided. “No one’s going to hurt you. You’re safe. Just trust me. You’re going to get out of here.” He hauled her up and propped her against his body, then tied the bandana around her mouth.  
  
“There. You won’t inhale as much smoke. Hold onto me, all right?” Snake felt her arms wrap around his neck, and he lifted her up. “Close your eyes.” The mercenary maneuvered through what was left of the mansion towards the entrance. He kept a tight grip on Samus the entire time.   
  
Neither of them were going to die today.

 

* * *

 

The mansion, along with the arenas nearby, were irrevocably damaged from the flames. The inside collapsed on itself, and the exterior was a husk of its former glory. Some helped Master Hand with rebuilding, others nursed the wounded. Snake looked on with a deep frown on his face before looking back down at Samus.  
  
The beautiful day outside starkly contrasted with what had just occurred. The branches of the trees behind them cast a shade over the duo as they observed the others. Samus kept her gaze on the grass, and Snake kept at least one eye on her at all times.   
  
“... Samus.”  
  
His voice seemed to startle her. She glanced up at him, then looked back down. “Are you all right?”  
  
“Better,” she responded cagily. She pulled her knees up to her chest. Snake briefly reached out with one arm, then hesitated. He drew back. “Everyone got out, right?” He muttered a confirmation and looked in the opposite direction. They sat in silence; each yearned to say something to break the silence, but neither knew where to start.   
  
Snake cleared his throat. “You comfortable explaining what happened back there?” There was no response. “Samus. Please, talk to me. I’m not going to judge you. If it was what I think it was ...” he trailed off. The hunter tensed, but otherwise didn’t move. He sighed quietly.   
  
“I’m not weak.” The sharpness of her statement took Snake aback. “What happened in the fire did not make me weak. I won’t have anyone saying that.”  
  
“I’m a soldier,” he began. “I know how PTSD works. I have it too. I’m not going to tell anyone. They won’t know about this, but you can’t just bury what happened.” Snake paused. “Mei Ling told me that you were raised by a species called the Chozo, but I had no idea why. Now I have some clues.” He gripped her shoulder gently. Samus didn’t pull away. “Something happened to your home. Right?”  
  
She nodded.   
  
“My home colony was destroyed by the Space Pirates and their commander. You know Ridley.”  
  
“No way in hell I’d be able to forget that thing.” Snake cringed and let out a grumble of disgust. “So that’s where the rivalry comes from.”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
The awkward silences were going to be the end of him. Should he explain his trauma? Would it make her feel better, or would it be seen as a competition of who had the worst life? Snake wasn’t sure. He furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed his temples with his free hand. “I’ve ... I’ve had some trauma in the past, myself.” Samus turned to look at him, and listened.   
  
“Had to kill a man who called himself my father.” Her eyes grew wide; it didn’t go unnoticed, but he couldn’t stop now. He’d close off if he stopped talking. “It had to be done. But ... I had to get away for a while. Isolate myself. I retired for a while so I could come to terms with everything that had happened.”  
  
“I had no idea,” she whispered.  
  
“No way you could have. I haven’t been telling anyone. Like you and what happened to your home.” Snake wrapped his arm around Samus’ shoulders and pulled her closer. She made no objections, but simply reveled in the comforting contact. “... I understand. I’m sorry. About what happened to you, I mean. But this is something we can work through.”  
  
She quirked an eyebrow. “We?”  
  
“Neither of us can really ignore it, you know,” he grumbled. “It’s better for the both of us if we figure out how to ... work on it. Work through it. I’m sure you can.” Snake’s eyes shut as he exhaled slowly. He felt Samus rest her head on his shoulder.  
  
“I’m sure you can too, Snake.” He could hear the softness in her voice, the compassion that lay behind the cold exterior. For the first time that day, he relaxed.   
  
They listened to the sounds of nature as the mansion was rebuilt.


End file.
